


Wings

by Keolah



Category: Dungeons & Dragons - Fandom
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Action/Adventure, Demons, F/M, Romance, Tieflings, University, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-08
Updated: 2011-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 05:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/782345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keolah/pseuds/Keolah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An ordinary college student stumbles upon a dark ritual that changes his life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wings

New Babylon's a strange place. I haven't been here long, and I'm still not used to it. I'm not sure if I'll ever get completely used to it. It's so different from the small town I grew up in. There's so many strange people, beings I'd never seen before.

I came to New Babylon ostensibly to study philosophy, but my scholarship was really for martial arts. Someone saw my talent, and paid my way to come here and learn to be a monk. I'm not really sure why. I'm only good at beating people up.

It's a warm September evening. I've just finished up with afternoon practice and I'm getting back to my dorm. Our instructor works us hard, and my outfit is still sticky with sweat.

"Hey, Renato." It's my friend, an elf named Aidan Mooney, whose dorm room is right next door to mine. He's out of breath and looks like he's in a hurry.

"What is it, Aidan?" I say. "I was just about to head into town."

"Were you?" Aidan says. "Ah, good. While you're there, could you pick up some supplies for me? I need them first thing in the morning, but a family emergency just came up."

"Sure, not a problem. I'll swing by and pick up everything you need and leave it in your room for you to collect later. Good luck."

"Thanks, Ren. You're a lifesaver. Let me know how much it was and I'll pay you back later."

He shoves a list into my hands and hurries off to catch his ride. Well, I was planning on heading out anyway to pick up groceries, so this works out well enough. I hope that everything is alright with his family.

I go into my room and get changed, and look over the list he gave me. It looks like Aidan's art teacher ambushed the class with some unusual requests. I should be able to grab this stuff down at the nearby mall."

The mall isn't far from campus, so I walk there. The flaky art teacher had some strange demands, but I find them easily enough. I head over to the grocery store adjacent to the mall to collect some necessary supplies of my own. Soft drinks, ramen, cheesy puffs, and hot dogs.

As I'm heading out, with two plastic bags laden with goods, I spot movement out of the corner of my eye. I turn to take a look. There are several tieflings fighting just around the corner of the building. I hear a brief scuffle, a female voice, a scream quickly muffled. Then a moment later, they vanish into the darkness.

My heart pounds in my chest. Someone's in trouble. I have to help. Quickly, I follow after them, gripping my groceries tightly in my hands. I'm not sure where they're taking her, but I need to move fast if I'm to catch up with them. They were already quite a ways away when I spotted them. I'm closing in on them. I'm not sure that they're aware they're being followed. Either way, they're moving fast, carrying the still-struggling girl.

I turn a corner, and they aren't there. I pause, look around for a moment, considering which way they went. I fear I've lost them. Then I notice a door slightly ajar leading off the side of the alley. I hide my groceries behind a trash can nearby. If I'm going to fight, I'll need both hands to do it with. Then I go inside.

It's dark inside. I don't see anyone in sight. It looks like an old apartment building. There are stairs leading up, and doors on each side. This is no good. They could be anywhere in here.

"Hurry up. Did anyone see you?"

I hear voices. I strain to determine where they're coming from.

"I don't think so. Will this wench do?"

"She's fine. Get her into the ritual chamber. Xander's waiting for you."

It came from the left. I hurriedly open the door and rush inside. Down the hallway to the far end, where there's a door ajar, and movement. I go through.

A scene from out of a nightmare. The room is lit only by black candles, and the faint red glow of a rune circle carved into the wooden floor. The kidnapped girl is at the far side of the ritual circle, bleeding out through her wrists and ankles. Her blood fills the grooves in the floor, which start glowing with an ominous red tinge. I'm frozen in place, gaping at the sight before me, only for a moment. Rage fills me when I see what they're doing.

"I thought you said you weren't followed? Get him!"

Six tieflings turn hostile faces toward me. My body instinctively moves before my mind realizes what's going on. My hands and feet fly as I bring the tieflings down. I'm not going to university on a martial arts scholarship for no reason.

The tieflings tossed aside like rag dolls against the walls, I turn my attention to their master. Xander, they said his name was. He's fully human, not a tiefling, and standing at the far end of the ritual circle where the girl's lifeblood is quickly running out.

"Let her go, you monster!" I yell.

"You're far too late for that, boy. It's time for my ascension!"

Before he can do anything else, I leap at him.

... My foot steps into the rune circle.

The runes flare to life. A hellish red glow fills the room. Sudden pain jolts through my body. I topple like a cut tree.

Pain. Pain rips through me like electricity. Like lightning in my nerves. Like fire in my veins. I think I'm screaming. What's happening to me? It feels like an eternity of unimaginable agony. Like a horde of demons are ripping me apart with their talons. Are they killing me? Was this some sort of trap?

... Or did I inadvertently step into the path of their ritual?

"No!" Xander roars. "You fool, that was my ascension!"

I feel hands upon me suddenly. I wonder how I can feel that in the midst of all this pain. Then there's a second voice screaming next to me.

"Don't touch him, you idiots!" Xander says. "The ritual will kill you if you try to intervene like that!"

My skin burns. My bones ache. I feel strange sensations on my shoulders. My forehead. My rear end. My fingers and toes... And above that all, shadows seeping into my very soul. Like drowning in pollution. Being engulfed in a darkness so deep that one might never again hope to see the light.

The pain is fading, but the fire remains. A burning ember in my soul, just waiting to burst into flames again. I breathe deeply. My body shudders. I'm not sure that I want to open my eyes yet. My body feels like it's not my own. No, it is my own, but something still feels strange about it regardless, even without the intense pain. What did they do to me?

I open my eyes. My vision is clearing. I feel Xander and the tieflings watching me, as if wondering what I'm going to do now.

"That was incredibly foolish."

Xander is speaking to me, but I don't really hear him. I'm staring at my hands. The skin is blood red, and my fingernails have been replaced by long, black, retractable claws. There's something heavy on my back. I realize that it's a pair of wings. Bat-like... demonic wings.

"What did you do to me?" I wonder.

"You did this to yourself" Xander says. "You stepped into the ritual circle intended for me. You took my ascension."

He glares at me, but he doesn't move to attack. The tieflings are just standing there, awaiting orders. Are they... afraid of me?

"Fine," Xander says. "We can find another sacrifice and prepare the ritual again."

Sacrifice. I look at the girl in front of me. Her unmoving body. She's not breathing. The blood that was running out of her has stopped.

"She's dead..." I murmur.

"Of course she is," Xander says. "Did you expect her to survive having her soul ripped out so that _you_ could become a demon?"

"You killed her..." I repeat.

"No, technically you did, by activating the ritual circle. What does it matter to you, anyway? Did you know her?"

"YOU KILLED HER!" I roar.

Rage fills my vision. My blood burns. No, this was not my doing. I wasn't the one who brought her here to be a sacrifice. I won't take responsibility for someone else's crimes. I roar, and my talons come out as I leap at him again. I move faster than he can react, and my claws sink into his flesh. I'm not aiming to pin him down or disable him right now. I'm trying to _kill_ him.

The tieflings hesitate for a moment, then move against me. One of them makes a break for the door. No time to pursue, though. There are five others on me, some of them with knives. I rip at them with my claws. My movements are faster than I thought humanly possible, and there's more power in my muscles. My reddish skin is like leather, and their weapons only manage small cuts and nicks.

The blood rage fades from my vision as I realize they're all dead. Mangled corpses lay around me, and my claws are wet with blood. But the girl is dead as well. There's nothing to be dead. I let out a ragged sigh and shudder. I don't recognize her, but I still couldn't save her.

No time to loiter around here, though. One of the tieflings ran off. I don't know where he went and he's probably gone too far to follow now. But he might bring back something more dangerous than tieflings with knives. They might have real demons as their allies.

I wipe my bloody claws off on the tieflings' clothing and scramble out of the building again. I don't want to go back to my dorm looking like this, but what choice do I have? It's getting late, so hopefully not many people will see me.

I gather my groceries up from outside and head back to the dorm.

I feel everyone's eyes on me as I return to the dorm. There aren't many full fiends at the university, but there's enough that the appearance of one extra isn't taken as too out of the ordinary.

I drop off Aidan's art supplies in his room and put away my groceries, and take refuge in my room. No one will find me in here. I can hide from the world for the moment.

I wish I had a mirror in here. I know in my heart what must have happened to me, but I want to see it for myself. But the only mirror in here is in the bathroom. Well, I should get cleaned up, regardless. I gather up a change of clothes and head out down the hallway.

The figure in the mirror is a stranger to me even before I strip down. The vivid red skin, the wings, the horns, the tail. There's no denying it. I have become a demon. But I already knew the truth in my heart. I could feel the change inside of me. Even if I looked completely human as normal, I would still be different inside. It's like a black stain on my soul. A shadow that I cannot escape from.

There are strange markings on my body as well, as though the runes in the ritual circle had become embedded in me. They sting a little when I touch them. What has been done to me? How did they do this? And more importantly, what am I going to do now?

I slump down onto my bed, laying on my stomach. My wings get in the way of everything and make me uncomfortable. I feel like I'm going to rip everything apart with my claws, but at least they hide themselves quite naturally when I'm not using them.

So I'm a demon now. This is a little hard to accept, considering I've always thought myself to be a good person. Well, I don't care. I'm not going to let this change me. I'm just going to be the same person I always was. Which means, I'm just going to have to go to class again tomorrow like normal. I'm just going to pretend that nothing is different? Well, so be it, then. That's the way it's going to be. I get to sleep uneasily and uncomfortably, with darkness still clinging at the edges of my mind, but I do eventually fall asleep.

* * *

Nightmares fade from my mind. It's morning. My bones ache. My skin itches. And my body hungers like a wild animal. Well, I suppose it only stands to reason. With last night's events, I forgot to eat the ramen with hot dogs that I had planned for dinner. I've still got an hour until my first class, so I head over to the cafeteria.

There are more people here today than there were last night. I can feel their stares upon me. It makes me uncomfortable. More than that, it makes me uneasy enough to have the urge to snarl at them and tell them to mind their own business. But I resist the sudden thought. I grab some breakfast and sit down to eat at an empty table. I want to be alone right now, and people are more than happy to give me my space. But I hear them whispering about me behind my back.

"Hey, you see that guy? He's kind of hot."

There are girls tittering about me at the next table over. One of them is a scarlet-eyed tiefling vixen who is surreptitiously eyeing me. This is not the sort of attention I expected nor desired.

"Oh, you're into that kind of guy, are you, Nasrin?"

"What?" Nasrin says. "So was my mother, apparently. What of it?"

"You know the type. He'll love you then leave you."

"Heh," Nasrin says with a chuckle. "Perhaps, but we'd have a wild time while it lasted."

I'm thankful that my red skin makes it impossible for me to blush. I hurriedly finish up my breakfast and head off to class. I don't want to hear whatever else those girls might be saying about me right now.

My first class today is Latin. Our teacher is an old lizardwoman named Farrah Bakir, who looks disapprovingly when she sees me sitting in the middle of the room, and frowns at me.

"Mr. Fazendeiro."

My heart leaps in my chest in surprise as she addresses me directly.

"Please sit in the back row," Professor Bakir says. "Your wings are getting in the way."

"Y-- Yes, Professor Bakir."

Embarrassed, I move to an empty desk in the back row. Just like in the cafeteria, my classmates are whispering about me, but these aren't strangers. They're people who knew I wasn't a demon yesterday.

"What horrible thing did he do to become this monstrosity?"

That's Julia Bonati, an aasimar girl and the smartest one in the class. She's embarrassed half the class by picking up the Latin we've learned like it's nothing, despite claiming that she's never studied it before in her life.

"He was human yesterday..."

"You don't just become a demon overnight for no reason..." Julia says.

"What an awful guy."

I feel like shrinking down into a corner and hiding from them, but I do my best to ignore the voices and not let them bother me too much. It can't be helped.

I get out of classes by afternoon. I debate on picking up some lunch at the cafeteria, or just forgetting about that and heading back to my dorm right now.

While I'm considering, I spy a trio of angels approaching me. Oh, this can't be good. My skin prickles just being near them, as though their very aura is inimical to beings of the lower planes. The three of them circle around me, cornering me against the cafeteria wall. What are they doing? Surely they don't mean to do anything to me out here in broad daylight, out in the open!

"How did you do it, demon?"

"What sort of terrible ritual did you perform to do this to yourself?"

"Who did you kill, demon?"

I can't get away from them. They're too close, and there's nowhere to run. I'm afraid if I fight them I'll just wind up hurting them and proving them right.

"This wasn't my doing, I swear," I insist.

I doubt they will listen to me. But I try to explain what happened regardless. This wasn't my fault. I'm not a murderer.

"Oh, really?"

I try to explain, "I stumbled into the middle of a ritual and accidentally got hit with this while trying to save the victim."

"That's a fine story. But I don't believe you."

Some students nearby have stopped to watch, but no one speaks out against the angels. The three holy beings of light and goodness press in around me.

"We're angels. We are the hand of justice. And you know what we do to fiends like you?"

The three of them attack me with their hands and fists, kicking and punching at me. They're weak and untrained, but even this will hurt me if I don't do anything about it. Especially since their every strike feels like being hit with a sledgehammer, despite the lack of strength behind it.

"Leave me alone!" I cry. "I didn't do anything!"

* * *

I cover my head with my hands as the angels beat on me mercilessly, but I don't raise a finger against them. They won't seriously injure me, not like this, and especially not out here. I block out the pain as they continue their assault.

"He's not even fighting back..." Julia says.

"What a wuss," Nasrin says.

"I thought he was in the martial arts program?"

"Why isn't he fighting back?" Julia wonders.

"He could snap those angels like twigs with his bare hands if he really wanted to!"

"Stop this." Julia unexpectedly steps forward and speaks firmly to the angels beating on me. She raises her hands and looks at them coolly."

"He's a demon! He deserves this!"

"He's not even fighting back," Julia says. "There's no justice in this."

"But he must have done something horrible to gain this demonic form!"

"And then just to use it to let angels beat on him senselessly?" Julia says.

"But..."

"This sort of behavior is demeaning to all of us. Leave the boy be and go," Julia says.

Unbelievably, the three angels hang their heads and turn to walk away, leaving me laying on the ground. I'm a bit scuffed up, but otherwise unhurt. The spectacle gone, the crowd slowly disperses.

"Are... are you alright?" Julia timidly approaches me. Despite having sent the angels away, she still seems a bit wary of me nonetheless. She seems uncertain, as if she doesn't know what to make of me and doesn't know my intentions.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply. "Thank you for helping me."

"No you're not, you're bleeding!"

"I am?"

I look down at myself. Oh. Damn. I hadn't even noticed amidst the dull pain of the angels pounding on me. A bit of black blood is slowly staining my shirt and pants, and I feel dizzy all of a sudden.

"You're wounded," Julia says. "I don't think anything is broken, but we'd best get this cleaned up."

I'm feeling too light-headed to argue at the moment. Barely conscious, I let her guide me out of the plaza without even realizing just where we might be going. I didn't think I had been so badly hurt. Damn. If Julia hadn't stepped in, those angels might have killed me, even though they hadn't seemed to be very strong. Just being near them was painful enough, but when they touched me, it did far more damage than it logically should have.

At some point, I think I must have passed out. When I open my eyes again, I find myself looking at the ceiling in an unfamiliar room. What am I doing in someone else's dorm room? It's obviously not mine. Mine doesn't have its own TV set and adjacent bathroom. And this is far neater than... oh, there's Julia sitting at the desk, writing.

"Are you awake?" Julia asks quietly.

She turns to look at me when I stir, her voice full of concern. Right, she must have brought me here after I was beaten up by those angels. My body still aches, but I don't appear to be bleeding anymore at least.

"Where am I?" I wonder. "Oh, I guess this must be your room..."

"Yeah. I didn't know where yours was, so I brought you here to get you cleaned up and treated."

"Thank you, but-- gah!" I say, putting my hands to my head. "What will people think if anyone notices I was in your room!?"

"Why should they think anything?" Julia frowns in confusion, looking at me and setting aside her work. I stare right back at her, a little dumbfounded. Can she really be that naive?

"Just... never mind," I say. "Thank you for helping me. Those angels might have killed me if you hadn't intervened on my behalf."

"You must not have realized how much they were really hurting you. They said you do martial arts... is that true?"

"Yeah... wait, what time is it?" I ask.

"It's almost three o'clock."

"Gah!" I exclaim. "I'm going to miss my afternoon practice!"

"You're in no condition to be doing martial arts right now."

I try to get up, and pain shoots through my body at even that much movement. "Argh!"

"You should probably just lie still for a bit longer," Julia says. "I can let them know you won't be able to come in today. It's alright."

"But... but... I'm in your room I shouldn't be in your room. I should get back to my own room, at least. You-- You're going to want to sleep here later, after all.

"Alright," Julia says. "I'll help you back to your room and then let your martial arts instructor know that you're injured and can't make it to practice. Alright?"

"I suppose that'll work... I must ask you one thing, though. Why are you helping me?"

"You seem... different from other fiends that I've seen," Julia says. "I've never seen a fiend that would hesitate to rip apart any angel that looked at him in the wrong way."

"Well, as I tried to tell them, this wasn't exactly my idea."

"Something horrible must have happened to you to cause this, then..."

"Yeah." I nod. "I didn't mean to get into the middle of their ritual. I was just trying to save the girl they were going to sacrifice. And I didn't even manage to do that."

I sigh in regret. I still don't even know who she was. Just a nameless, innocent face who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid the price for it with her life.

"It wasn't your fault, then..."

I try to get up again, gritting my teeth against the pain. How badly had those angels really hurt me? How could their flimsy attacks have caused me so much damage?

"Don't push yourself too much." She comes over to help me up. I feel silly for this little aasimar girl trying to help me even just to stand.

"It's alright," I say. "I can manage it on my own. Argh!" I waver and almost fall over, but Julia holds me steady.

"Careful now."

I'm in a pretty girl's room, and she's holding onto me like this. My face burns, and I try to shake her off and stand on my own, but Julia's having none of it. I mutter quietly.

"This is embarrassing..."

"Relax," she says. "Let's just get you back to your place so you can rest some more."

After failing to walk or even stand on my own, I reluctantly concede defeat and allow her to help me out to the elevator and down the street to my dorm.

I feel like people are staring at us even more than just seeing a random demon walking around. This must be a strange sight, to be sure, and no one offers to help, either. Julia just obstinately ignores their stares and helps me back to my dorm safely and without any further incident.

"You just relax now, alright?" Julia says. "Don't do anything too strenuous or you might make it worse again."

"Alright, alright," I say. "I'll just take it easy. Thanks again for the help."

Julia leaves me alone in my room and closes the door behind her. I slump down onto my own bed in relief. I realize that I'm hungry and I didn't eat lunch, but I don't have the energy to try to cook anything right now. I just pull out a bag of cheesy puffs and a can of root beer for the moment. At least that'll take the edge off of my hunger. I've eaten half the bag before I realize it. I frown and brush off my hands, and put the rest away. I curl up on my bed uncomfortably and quickly drift off into a nap.

I don't know how long I slept, but I wake to the sound of a knock on the door. It's dark out the window, so I must have napped at least a few hours. I still don't really feel like moving to greet whoever is knocking, though.

"Come in, the door's unlocked," I call.

"Hey, Ren-- aahhh!?" Aidan comes in, and practically jumps out of his skin in surprise upon seeing me. He must not have heard the rumors that I have no doubt must be circulating around about me by now.

"Oh. Hello, Aidan. I, uh..." I'm not sure what to say to him. This is awkward. Aidan stands in the doorway, stammering and looking like he's ready to bolt at any minute.

"Renato?" Aidan says uneasily. "Why are you a demon?"

I repeat again to him what I told Julia before. I feel something burning in me, growing ever more impatient at having to explain myself to these mortals, but I suppress it stubbornly.

"I-- I'm sorry. That sounds terrible." His eyes are wide, and it's clear he's still afraid, but he doesn't look like he's on the verge of running away screaming anymore, at least.

"It's alright," I say. "It can't be helped. It's nothing I can't live with. I just wish everyone didn't panic or hate me the minute they see me. Anyway, did you need something?"

"Oh. I just wanted to thank you for saving my butt with the art supplies last night, and ask you how much they cost so I can pay you back."

"They weren't expensive," I say. "If you want to pay me back, I'd really appreciate it if you could bring me some dinner, if it's not too much trouble. I didn't eat lunch today because some angels beat me up on the way to the cafeteria, and I'm still too sore to move much."

"No problem. Take it easy. I'll be back in a bit."

I let out a breath and slump back on the bed. I examine my wounds. Ugly black bruises mar the crimson skin. My muscles protest at my every movement. I haven't been this badly hurt since I started learning martial arts. A bit later, the door opens again to admit Aidan, along with a delicious smell that makes my makes my stomach excited.

"Cheeseburgers," Aidan says. "I thought you might be extra hungry and they're kind of small, so I brought you two of them."

"Thanks, Aidan. That's wonderful."

I accept the food from Aidan and take a big bite out of one of the burgers. He also brought a large basket of fries. It's just cafeteria food, but I don't mind. The demonic part of me is just appreciative of the meat in it. I pull out another can of root beer to go with it.

"You need anything else?" Aidan asks.

"No, this is good. Is everything alright with your family?"

"Oh. Yeah. My sister went into labor early and they wanted me to help with the ritual. But I've got a healthy little baby niece now."

"Congratulations," I say with a weak smile. "I'm glad to hear all is well."

"Well, I need to study now. I'm right across the wall if you need anything else."

"Thanks, Aidan."

I finish off my dinner and go to sleep again. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning...

* * *

I wake, feeling much better. Most of the pain is gone from my limbs, and the bruises have already faded for the most part. Still not at a hundred percent yet, but much improved at least. Maybe I wasn't hurt as badly as I had thought, or maybe demons just have enhanced regeneration abilities. Either way, I don't think I really care to go up against angels again anytime soon, if I can possibly help it. Really, I would rather not go anywhere near angels. Just being near them hurts bad enough as it is.

It's a Saturday, so I've got some time to myself today. I'd been intending on staying in my dorm and resting today, but since I'm feeling better, perhaps I should go and do something instead.

I decide to go see Julia. I don't think mere words were sufficient to thank her for what she did for me yesterday.

This is her dorm. I'm a little nervous about heading inside, but I think I remember which room is hers. Alright, let's be honest. I'm more than a little nervous. What if I got the wrong room? What if she doesn't want to see me? What if someone sees me and gets the wrong impression? As I'm standing around outside the dorm working up the courage to go inside, the door opens and Julia comes out.

"Oh," Julia says. "Hello, Renato. What are you doing here?"

"Er. Good morning, Julia. I just wanted to see you again."

"Oh. Um. Hello. You look much better today. How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks to you," I say.

"I'm glad to hear it," she says.

"So... what are you doing today?"

My heart is pounding. What's wrong with me? I can't just ask her on a date or something. I just wanted to be friends and get to know her a little bit better, for now at least. I'm not sure whether desiring anything more right now is a sign of demonic lust or merely being a teenage boy.

"Oh. I've got a part-time job I do on weekends," Julia says. "I was just heading that way now."

"Oh. Okay..." I say, a bit deflated.

"But I suppose I can spare some time this evening if you want to talk or something..."

This is awkward. I don't know what to say to her. I don't know what I'd talk about with her, given such an invitation. Well, I'll come up with something.

"Sure," I say. "That could be fun."

"Do you have a job?" she asks.

"No, I don't."

The way she looks at me, I fear that she thinks I'm lazy for that fact. As though she has standards that I could never hope to meet, even if I weren't a demon. But maybe it's just me.

"See you later, then," she says.

"Right. See you."

Julia heads off to work, leaving me standing staring after her for a few minutes, somewhat stunned. Well, I suppose there's nothing to be done right now but go have some breakfast, then. I head over to the cafeteria and grab something to eat.

My stomach is rumbling, and demanding something with meat in it. I think I'll head down to the cafeteria and pick up some breakfast. Hopefully they'll have something with bacon or sausage available, or at least eggs. They do indeed have sausage with pancakes for breakfast today. They're awfully small, and I want meat, so I get a triple helping of them.

I turn to look at the cafeteria. The place is awfully crowded today, and there aren't any empty tables. I don't feel like just going to eat outside, so I look for a place to sit. No one wants to sit with me, however. I finally find a table in the corner occupied by one tiefling girl.

"Excuse me," I say. "Is this seat taken?"

"Sit here if you like," Nasrin says. "I don't care."

She shrugs and munches on her own sausage, so I take a seat beside her. I think I saw her the other day, but I don't remember her name.

"Don't even care if you _are_ a wuss that let yourself get beaten up by angels."

"Hey," I protest. "I'm not a wuss."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"They were so pathetic, I'd probably have just killed them with one finger," I insist, trying to sound brave and tougher than I feel. "And they hit like little girls."

She laughs aloud at that and points at me with her fork. Why am I trying to act like a badass demon now, when there's an attractive tiefling girl in front of me? But if nothing else, she's one person who doesn't even bother to question my unexpected transformation. Is that such a good thing, though?

"Okay, I guess you've got a point there," Nasrin says. "Wouldn't want to get arrested or anything, even though they obviously started it. You'd get blamed for it anyway just because you're a demon."

"Heh. My name's Renato. I don't think I have any classes with you. What's your name?"

"Nasrin Shirazi."

"Nasrin... That's a nice name."

"Heh. If you say so."

"So, what are you studying?" I ask.

"Eh." She shrugs. "Chemistry."

"Not thrilled with it?" I ask.

"It's not as exciting as I'd hoped for," she says. "Not nearly enough explosions."

"I'm sure you'll get to do that at some point if you keep it up..."

I'm already halfway through my sausage, although I've barely touched my pancakes. It's just cheap sausage, but I'm finding it to be utterly delicious today and consider going back for more again.

"What about you, Renato? What's your major?"

"Erm. Philosophy."

"Hmh. Is there anyone taking philosophy who is actually there to learn about philosophy?"

"Well, maybe one or two of them..." I say with a smirk.

Nasrin chuckles in amusement. It seems so natural talking to her, as if I could tell her anything and she won't judge me for it or be uneasy just being in my presence.

Outside the cafeteria after eating breakfast, I spy out of the corner of my eye, a tiefling looking at me. Watching me? Is it the one I let escape the other night? I can't be certain, as I didn't get a good look at them at the time, but this one looks a little old to be hanging around a university campus. I don't think I've seen him here before, and I don't think he's one of the teachers.

Well, the campus is open, so it's not like it's against any rules for an outsider to be here, but why is he watching me like that? And then I turn to look again, and he's gone. He must have vanished the minute he thought I'd spotted him. Am I just imagining things, or was that a little suspicious? Well, nothing to be done about it now.

My body's aching some again. Perhaps I'll go back to my dorm and rest a bit longer. Maybe it's best if I don't push myself too hard. I don't want to wind up hurting myself again and delaying my body's healing any further, after all. I'll just lay down and relax a bit longer.

I go over and turn on the radio to get some quiet music going in the background. Something good to chill out to. I let my thoughts drift along with the music playing softly. It's sappy pop music about falling in love with an angel. That seems to be an awfully popular topic. The perfect woman, virtuous and pure, but forever unattainable.

The music is quiet and hypnotic, and I find myself drifting off to sleep again, despite not having been awake for long.

I wake up slowly. It's dark out already? I must have been more tired than I'd realized. But my body doesn't hurt any longer, and there isn't a mark on it. Everything must have healed up already, from the looks of things.

I am, however, famished. I feel as though I could devour a whole minotaur at the moment. Perhaps that's the price of my body's rapid regeneration. I'd best go get a double-sized dinner to fill it up again, in that case, especially since I missed lunch.

I step outside my dorm, and I see Julia hanging around outside. Was she waiting for me out here by herself?

"Good evening, Julia."

"Hello, Renato. How are you feeling this evening?"

"Much better, thanks," I say. "I think I might be fully recovered now."

"That's good to hear."

"Oh, Julia. I was heading out to get some dinner. You want to join me?"

Why did I just ask her that? I feel like such a fool. Well, it's not really much of a date if we just go to the cafeteria and eat, right? That's just, you know, hanging out. And why am I so worried about the thought of dating when all I really want to do is drag her back into my room and violate her sweet, angel-born body?

No. That's wrong. That's just the demon talking. That would be wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Bad. Evil. No. I forcefully push that thought out of my head. Julia is looking at me expectantly. Did she say something? Damn, I must look like an idiot.

"Renato? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sorry," I say. "I just spaced out there for a moment."

"Maybe you're just hungry," Julia says. "Let's head to the cafeteria."

"Yeah, I forgot to eat lunch. That's probably it."

We arrive in the cafeteria. There's fried chicken on the menu today. I pick up a large chicken breast and a pair of drumsticks, and don't even bother looking twice at the non-meaty dishes. Julia glances over to my plate disdainfully.

"Renato, that's horrible."

"What?" I say.

"Nothing but fried chicken? You should at least pick up some salad to go along with it."

Against my feeble protests, Julia refuses to leave the counter until I have two scoops of macaroni salad and coleslaw on my plate. Satisfied, Julia finds an empty table and sits down to eat, and I follow after her.

"So, what are you here to study?"

"Uh... philosophy."

"Really?" Julia says with a smile. "I always found that a fascinating subject. But I went into psychology instead."

"You wanted to be a shrink?"

Julia smirks at me. Maybe this was all a bad idea. I don't know if she's really my type, if that's her attitude. But she's a nice enough girl nonetheless, so what's the problem with that?

"I'm very interested in learning how the mind functions, why people do the things that they do, and how to help people who may need it. So, tell me, Renato. How has becoming a demon changed your outlook on the metaphysics surrounding the alignment of the soul?"

"Er..." I'm not sure how to answer that. I'm not sure if I _can_ answer that. In fact, I'm not even sure just what the hell she meant.

"It's a beautiful and complex subject. I can understand if you haven't had a lot of time to think about it yet. But let me ask, regardless. I'm curious, so please indulge me, if you will."

"Well, alright," I say. "I'll try to answer you as best as I can. But don't be too disappointed if it's not quite what you might have been hoping for."

"Do you think that merely being a demon inevitably condemns a person to being evil?"

"Heh, what kind of a question is that?" I say with a smirk. "I don't think I'm evil. And I'm certainly not going to try to be."

"But have you had any unexplained urges to commit acts of cruelty and selfishness? Any dark thoughts encouraging you to indulge in sins?"

I would be lying if I said I hadn't. But how do I tell that to her? It's not like I want to be evil or anything. But there's something evil inside of me, almost like a separate person, trying to claw its way out.

"I'm not real sure." What a splendid non-answer. If I'm going to evade the question, I could at least come up with something more eloquent than that.

"Renato? Do you know that man?"

"What? Who?" I peer around, wondering who she had seen.

"There was a tiefling outside the window," Julia says. "He seemed to be looking straight at us for a moment."

"I don't know any tiefling men."

"Strange. Well, I'd best get going. It was nice talking to you, Renato."

"Okay. See you, Julia."

She didn't eat much. Well, I'm not done with dinner yet. With Julia gone, I head back for more fried chicken, minus the salads this time.

As I'm heading out of the cafeteria. I think I spot a tiefling watching me again. But he's gone in an instant and I don't get a good look at him.

Is he following me? I could swear that I saw him following me back. It's not just my imagination. Where did he go? Why is he watching me?

No matter. Nothing to be done about it right now. I return to my room. I slept a lot today, and I'm not really tired yet, so I take the time to do some studying with my Latin verb conjugations. Then, I suppose I'll get some sleep.

* * *

I wake slowly from fitful dreams, haunted by demons and dark voices in my sleep. Will the dreams ever get any better, I wonder? It's like I have a portal straight to hell boring through my subconscious.

It's a cloudy Sunday morning in late September. The sky looks heavy and dark, as though it might start raining at any moment. There's a knock on the door. Probably Aidan, I think. He's the only one who generally comes to my room. I get up and go to open it.

It's not Aidan. It's a tiefling man in his thirties or forties. Perhaps the same one that I was seeing hanging around watching me yesterday. Why is he here?

"What do _you_ want?" I demand.

"So rude?" he says. "Why, I might be merely here to wish you a good morning, and deliver a simple message. Is that so bad?"

I just glare at him and don't bother to answer. Something about this all just feels wrong. I don't trust this man. Or maybe it's just that I don't trust tieflings in general, but that's just needless prejudice.

"Anyway, my master sent me to tell you this. Your friend, a young Miss Julia Bonati, is currently a guest at his estate. He wishes you to join us there for a nice talk, and perhaps some dinner."

"Who are you?" I demand. "Who is your master?"

"Ah, I am merely a humble minion called Zalim. My master is the mighty demon lord, Beleth. Now, are you interested in taking him up on this most cordial invitation? I can offer transportation, or give you directions if you would prefer to travel there yourself. What do you say?"

This is obviously a trap, but I don't really care to just walk into it like an idiot. Maybe I can manage to find a back way to sneak in and rescue her if I make my way there myself.

"Just give me the directions," I say. "I can find it myself."

"Very well, as you wish." Zalim tells me how to reach Beleth's mansion, a fair ways out of town to the north and off the main roads. He also hands me a business card with an address and phone number. Then he leaves.

I absently glance over the business card, then tuck it away in my desk. I don't need it. I can remember the information perfectly well myself. I'm going to assume the worst here, that Julia is being held prisoner and may be hurt or killed if I don't intervene, and if I'm not careful, I may well end up joining her.

I look around my room to see if there's anything I might want to take with me, that might be useful. I pull out my backpack and stuff into it a change of clothing, the remaining cans of root beer, and half a bag of cheesy puffs. That'll have to do. Perhaps I should stop by the mall on the way over to pick up anything else that might come in handy.

I walk over to the mall. I browse through the sporting goods store, and finally settle on a length of rope to add to my supplies.

Beleth's estate is too far to walk, so I grab a taxi. If I were worried about the money at this point, I would have just taken Zalim up on his offer of a ride and let myself walk right into their trap.

After a lengthy ride, I ask the lizardman cab driver to stop at the end of a side road leading up to the estate.

"I'll walk the rest of the way from here, thanks," I say.

I pay him his fare, wincing at the price, and start trudging up the side road. There's woodland up here, and the road is rough and doesn't appear to get too much traffic.

Good cover for me, I think. I glance back and make sure the taxi has driven off, and strike off into the woods. I must take care not to get off-track and lose my way, but also to remain alert to make sure I don't get ambushed or taken unawares.

As I trek through the forest, I fail to come across any traps, or patrols, or anything that might indicate this Beleth might be concerned about his security. I think I find that more unnerving than the alternative, though.

The mansion, at least, isn't _too_ far from the road. Far enough for some privacy, but not so far as to be inaccessible. This Beleth doesn't seem to want to be in the middle of nowhere. Just far enough away to avoid too many prying eyes. I kind of wish that he had just gotten a penthouse in the city or something at this point, though.

I examine the mansion, attempting to determine the proper approach for infiltration. There are no visible defenses. I grow all the more nervous about this. He can't just have his place undefended. There are doubtless traps or spells that I cannot see protecting the place. He might even already know that I'm here.

* * *

**Alternate route:**

This is bad. It's obviously a trap, so I don't think trying to be sneaky is exactly going to cut it here. I may as well take the offered ride and save myself the trouble and money of acquiring my own transportation.

"Fine, I'll take your ride," I say.

"Excellent," Zalim says. "Please come with me. I have a car waiting nearby."

Reluctantly, I follow after him. There's an unobtrusive black car parked on the street around the corner. I have a bad feeling about this all, but I suppress it and try to act cool. Zalim climbs into the driver's side, so I open the passenger side door and get in. My heart is pounding in my ears as we drive off.

"Really, I did not expect you would be so cooperative," Zalim says. "Here I thought you might decide to try to do something idiotic and heroic, the way you slaughtered my companions the other night."

"I wouldn't discount that yet, but there's really no need to be rude, as you said."

"What, you think you're going to attack Lord Beleth? Do you have any idea what you'd be going up against with him?"

"Nope, not a clue," I say lightly.

My blithe admittance causes Zalim to laugh aloud. "I'll give you credit for boldness, if nothing else. But don't get your hopes up. Lord Beleth can do things you haven't even dreamt of. Heh. You could be as powerful as him yourself someday, if you stopped being so concerned about the well-being of puny little angel-spawn."

"Well, I suppose that's my problem, then."

"That it is, my friend," Zalim says. "That it is."

The drive is fairly long, as Beleth's estate is far enough outside of town that there appears to be a small forest around it. Zalim pulls the car up a side road, and I come into view of the mansion. And it is, indeed, a mansion. Almost a dark castle, even. A sprawling, opulent demesne fit for a demon lord, I don't have time to stare, though, as Zalim parks the car inside the garage and we get out.

"Come. The master will be pleased to meet you, I am certain." Zalim leads me through the entryway and into a spacious living room. A dark, ominous figure is seated in what can only be called a throne, in front of a crackling fireplace.

The demon lord doesn't deign to stand as I move before him, merely examining me with close interest and perhaps a morbid curiosity. "So. You are Renato Fazendeiro, I take it, yes? I am Lord Beleth. You're the one who took on Xander's ascension in his place. Well, if he was so unprepared and those fools were unable to stop you from doing so, clearly you deserved it more."

"That was not my intention..."

"No, perhaps not," Beleth says. "And yet here you are, regardless."

"Yes. Here I am. What do you want?"

Beleth chuckles softly and gestures vaguely at a chair across from him. I remain standing, my tail swishing back and forth uneasily, not letting down my guard for a moment. He shrugs and goes on. "There is really no need to be rude now, after you have so politely accepted my invitation. But tell me, Renato, did you come here to speak with me, or merely out of concern for your little angel-spawn friend?"

"Why do you think I came here?" I say. "You're holding my friend hostage, and you expect politeness out of me?"

"Of course. I expect all the more politeness out of you. She is here, of course. She has not been harmed, as of yet. That condition, however, is subject to change at a moment's notice, pending good behavior from you. You are feeling polite, are you not?"


End file.
